For the President’s Day holiday weekend, my parents drove down to visit, along with their two golden retrievers. They arrived shortly before dinnertime, so while Grandma and Dad opted to stay home and order pizza, Mom and I drove to Panera for a healthier meal.

After ordering a salad for me and a half-sandwich for her, with a cup of black bean soup on the side, we found a little booth away from most of the other patrons. We chatted while waiting for our food to arrive, and when Mom realized that Target and Marshalls shared the same parking lot as Panera, her eyes lit up… And she asked if we could stop by both before heading home.

I laughed an immediately agreed!

We walked to Target first, and as soon as we entered the store, we slowly wandered through their “Dollar Aisle” section at the front, just past the shopping carts and baskets. Since Valentine’s Day had already passed, we found plenty of Easter-themed things: candy, plastic eggs, straw baskets, egg decorating kits, and even clip-on bowties for little boys to wear on Easter morning!

The same thing happened at Marshalls. Although we intended to go straight to the dog section for toys, we paused at their Easter display just inside the front door. I snagged a cute pastel ceramic orange egg carton, and Mom found adorable dishtowels covered in tiny Peeps!

When we arrived back at home with our purchases, we were both in the Easter spirit… Even though it was over a month and a half away! And since I associate all things carrot cake with Easter, I ended up baking this Healthy Carrot Cake Banana Bread soon after.

It has the same flavors as the iconic dessert—cozy cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, and plenty of sweet carrots—but with a fun fruity twist! Yet unlike traditional carrot cake, this easy recipe is just 107 calories and healthy enough for breakfast!

To make this healthy banana bread, you’ll start with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!), along with cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. The nutmeg adds a wonderful richness and depth to the spice flavor. As for the cinnamon, I’m currently obsessed with this one because it tastes brighter, bolder, and sweeter than the most popular brand-name variety!

To keep this banana bread on the healthy side, you’ll use a mere ½ tablespoon of butter or oil. Yes, that’s it! The rest of this low-calorie banana bread’s tender texture comes from two other ingredients: Greek yogurt and mashed banana. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I love baking with Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture to your batter as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your treats a protein boost, too!

The mashed banana not only provides tenderness… It also adds natural sweetness! See those bananas? That’s the minimum amount of brown spots I recommend. I actually prefer bananas that are almost entirely brown for my baking recipes!

This is because the brown bananas contain more natural sweetness than their pure yellow friends… So if you use those extra ripe bananas, you’ll only need to mix a small amount of pure maple syrup (like this!) into your low-calorie banana bread batter.

Just before spreading the batter into your loaf pan, you’ll gently stir in freshly grated carrots. Do not use the pre-shredded store-bought ones! Those are much thicker and drier than freshly grated carrots, and they don’t soften as much while baking. I promise it’s worth the small amount of extra effort to grate your own carrots!

Tip: If your food processor has a grater attachment, that makes the grating process go even faster!

How yummy does that healthy banana bread look? 👌🏻 It definitely put me in a permanent Easter mood… So I have plenty more fun carrot cake recipes coming your way soon! 🐰 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 😊) I’d love to see your banana bread!

This easy banana bread recipe is perfect for when you’re craving dessert… But not all of the calories or guilt! It has the same iconic flavors as carrot cake, like plenty of cozy spices and sweet carrots, but it’s healthy enough for breakfast and snacks! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Mix in the mashed banana and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the carrots.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For best results, use the ripest, darkest, most spottiest bananas you can find! The ones with more brown color than yellow are ideal. (See my photo in the blog post above for reference!) Measure the bananas by cups or grams. Not all “medium” bananas are the same size!

The mashed banana and Greek yogurt combined need to measure 1 cup. If you have slightly more than ¾ cup mashed banana, then reduce the Greek yogurt by the same amount, and vice versa.

Comments

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Juliette! I don’t have much experience with flax eggs, but I know Ener-G will work! (My brother is allergic to eggs, and that’s our favorite egg replacer. It works perfectly in nearly all of my recipes, including this one!) If you decide to try Ener-G in my recipes, you’ll need 1½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil for each egg yolk. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this banana bread!

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sravanthi! My brother is allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is our favorite egg replacer. It works perfectly in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! If you decide to try Ener-G in my recipes, you’ll need 1½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil for each egg yolk. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this banana bread!

I made the carrot/banana bread today with disappointing results. It was moist, but lacked flavor. I followed the recipe but added additional honey, still bland with that added. I put the mini loaves in the freezer hoping they will develop flavor.
Thanks for your recipes, I won’t give up on baking more of them.

I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Bobby Rae! That sounds really disappointing. How ripe were your bananas? Did they have as many (or more!) brown spots as the ones in my photo in this blog post? Also, what brand of cinnamon and nutmeg did you use? We’ll get that bland issue sorted out so it doesn’t happen again in your future banana bread loaves! 🙂

The Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is perfect for any and all chocolate lovers. Whether you enjoy chocolate occasionally or every single day (that’d be me!), there are plenty of goodies inside for you!
Healthier Chocolate Treats contains 50+ brand new healthier recipes. These recipes have never been seen before or appeared on my blog. You won’t find them anywhere else!
And yes—every single one contains some form of chocolate. Whether you prefer milk, dark or white, there are lots of treats inside for you!
What Inspired You to Write Healthier Chocolate Treats?
I have always loved chocolate. Every Halloween throughout my childhood, I inverted the entire contents of my bright … Read More

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